artillery employment at gettysburg

7/27/2019 Artillery Employment at Gettysburg

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ARTILLERY EMPLOYMENT AT THE BATTLE OF CETTYSBURG

A t h e s i s p r es e nt ed t o t h e F a c u l t y o f t h e U . S . ArmyCommand and Gen e ra l S t a f f Co l l eg e i n p a r t i a lf u l f i l l m e n t o f t h e r e q u ir e m e n t s f o r ' t h ed e g r e eMASTER OF MILITARY A R T A N D SCIENCE

byMAR K R . GILMORE, MAJ, USAB . S . , Oregon S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y , 1977

F o r t L e a v en w o r th , K a ns a s1989

Approved f o r p u b l i c r e l e a s e ;d i s t r i b u t i o n i s u n l i m i t e d .


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MASTER OF MI LI TARY ART A N D SCIENCET H E S I S APPROVAL PAGE

Name o f C a n d i d a t e : M A J Mark R. Gi l mo r eT i t l e of T h e s i s : A r t i l l e r y Employment a t t h e B a t t l e ofG e t t y s b u r g

Approved by:

d + , T h e s i s Co mmi tt ee Ch ai rma nLTC D a n i e l W . B a g b y d I I, Member, G radu a te Fac u l tyCOL Richadd M . Swain , Ph .D.

A c ce p te d t h i s 2 nd d a y of J u n e 1989 by :

, D i r e c t o r , G r a d ua t e DegreeP h i l i p J . Brookes , Ph .D. P rogramsT he o p i n i o n s an d c o n c l u s i o n s e x p r es s e d h e r e i n a r e t h o s e oft h e s t u d e n t a u t h o r a nd d o n o t n e c e s s a r i l y r e p r e s e n t t h e v i e w sof t h e U.S. A r m y Command and General S t a f f C o l l e ge o r anyo t h e r g o v e r n m en t a l a g e n cy . (Referencas t o W t u d v shouldt h e -

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ABSTRACT

ARTILLERY EMPLOYMENT AT THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG: Ana n a l y s i s o f how Union a r t i l l e r y f o r c e s were employedd u r i n g t h e B a t t l e o f G e t t y s b u r g , 1-3 J u l y 1863, byMajor Mark R . Gilmore, USA, 93 pages .T h i s t h e s i s i s an h i s t o r i c a l a n a l y s i s of the Union a r t i l l e r ya t t h e B a t t l e of G e t t y s b u r g . I t examines t h e s i g n i f i c a n c eof t h e Union a r t i l l e r y ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e F e d e ra l v i c t o r yT h i s s t u d y e x p l o r e s a l l a s p e c t s of t h e t a c t i c a l e mployment o ft h e Union a r t i l l e r y on t h e f i r s t and l a s t d ay s o f t h e b a t t l e .A b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e e v o lu t i on of a r t i l l e r y o rg a n iz a t i o ni n t h e Army of t h e Potomac p r i o r t o t h e b a t t l e o f G e t t ys b ur gis i n c l u d e d . T h i s i s f o l l o w e d b y t h e c h r o n o l o g i c a lp r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e t a c t i c a l employment of a r t i l l e r y d ur i n gt h e b a t t l e . F i r s t i t s employment i n t h e meet ing engagement on1 J u l y i s e x a min ed , f o l l o we d b y a s t u d y o f i t s u s e o n t h ef i n a l an d d e c i s i v e t h i r d d ay when Union f o r c e s f o u g h t a s e c -p i e c e d e fe n s i v e b a t t l e .Among t h e c o n c l u s i o n s a r r i v e d a t d u r i n g t h e c o u r s e o f t h i ss t u d y a re t h e s e : T h a t . t h e A r m y o f t h e Po t om a c 's c o r p sa r t i l l e r y b r i g a de s a nd army a r t i l l e r y r e s e r v e p r ov ed t o ber e s po n s iv e and e f f i c i e n t o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n f u l f i l l i n g t h e i rf i r e s u p p o r t m i s s i o n , a nd when c o up l ed w i t h t h e s k i l l f u l useof a r t i l l e r y an d a g g r e s s i v e l e a d e r s h i p by t h e a r my ' s C h i e f - o f -A r t i l l e r y , B r ig a d i e r G e n e r a l Hunt , were c r u c i a l t o t h esu c c e s s fu l employ me nt o f t h e Un io n a r t i l l e r y f o r c e s .T h i s s t u d y co n cl u de s t h a t t h e Union a r t i l l e r y u n d e r t h ecommand of B r i g a d i e r Ge ne ra l Henry Hunt had a d e c i d e d a n dp o s i t i v e i n f l u e n c e on t h e F e d er a l v i c t o r y by s u c c e s s f u l l yemploy ing i t s c o r p s a r t i l l e r y b r i g a d e s a n d army a r t i l l e r yr e s e r v e a s p a r t o f a combined arms f o r c e .

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Approval Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i iA b s t r a c t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iiiL i s t o f F i g u r e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vC h a p t e r 1 . n t r o d u c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1C h a p t e r 1 Endno tes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2C h a p t e r 2 . e t t y s b u r g . h e F i r s t Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14C h a p t e r 2 Endno tes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4~C h a p t e r 3 e t t y s b u r g . he Thi rd Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4C h a p t e r 3 Endno tes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B 6C h a p t e r 4 n a l y s i s a nd C o n c l u s i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68C h a p t e r 4 Endno tes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Appendix A . eapon Range Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Appendix B . r i n c i p l e s of A r t i l l e r y O r g a n i z a t i o n . . . . . . . . 1Appendix C p e c i a l O r d e rs No . 129 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Appendix D . nion A r t i l l e r y U n i t s a t G e t t y s b u r g . . . . . . . . .87B i b l i o g r a p h y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Y1I n i t i a l D i s t r i b u t i o n L i s t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

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L I S T OF FIGURESFigure 1 . e t tysburg Bat t l e f i e ld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Figure 2 . r t i l l e r y P o s i t i o n s . 1 J u l y a.m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Figure 3 . r t i l l e r y P o s i t i o n s . 1 J u l y p . m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Figure 4 . i c k e t t s Charge. 3 July p.m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Figure 5 h e Fight a t t h e Angle. 3 J u l y p.m . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

R ef er re d t o as t h e K i n g o f B a t t l e , t h e F i e l dA r t i l l e r y h a s e v o l v e d i n t o a pow er f u l member o f to da y scombined arms team. T h e h i s t o r y o f t h i s e v o l u t i o n i s a l o n ga nd c o l o r f u l o n e . Under t h e t u t e l a g e of Napoleon a r t i l l e r ywas r a i s e d t o a p r om i ne nc e e q u a l t o t h e o t h e r m i l i t a r y armsfound on t h e b a t t l e f i e l d . A f o rm e r a r t i l l e r y m a n , N a po le onr e co g ni z e d t h e p o t e n t i a l t h a t massed f i r e p o w e r o f f e r e d t h ef i e l d commander i f e mp lo ye d p r o p e r l y . A s h i s armiesd e m o n s t r a t e d t ime a n d a g a i n , massing t h e f i r e p o w e r o f h i sa r t i l l e r y a t t h e c r i t i c a l t i m e a nd p l a c e p r o v i d e d t h en e c e s s a r y t a c t i c a l a d va nt ag e f o r h i s m aneuver f o r c e s t ob r e a c h t h e enemy l i n e s a n d s e c u r e t h e v i c t o r y . 1 A s t h eA m e r i c a n C i v i l War a p p r o a c h e d , c h a n g e s were o c c u r r i n g i n t h ewor ld t h a t would have a p ro no un ce d a f f e c t on t h e r o l e ofa r t i l l e r y . Yet when t h e war became a r e a l i t y i t was e v i d e n ti mm ed ia te ly t h a t a r t i l l e r y m e n w ere n o t r e a d y t o d e a l w i t ht h e s e c h an g es , a nd would h av e t o a d a p t i f t h e i r arm was t os u r v i v e and c o n t i n u e t o b e a c o n t r i b u t i n g member o f t h ecombined arms team.

T h i s s t u d y examines t h e a r t i l l e r y s a d ap t a t i on t ot h e s e c h an g es by a n a l y z i n g t h e p e rf o rm a n ce o f t h e Army o f t h eP ot om ac s a r t i l l e r y d u r i n g t h e B a t t l e o f G e t t y s b u r g . T h i s

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c h a p t e r w i l l i n t ro d uc e t h e r e a d e r t o C i v i l War a r t i l l e r y i ns u f f i c i e n t d e t a i l t o p r ov i de an u n de rs t an d i n g of i t s m a t e r i a land o r g a n i z a t i o n a l c a p a b i l i t i e s . C h a p t e r s Two a nd Threee xa mi ne how t h e Union a r t i l l e r y was employed a t G e t t y s b u r g .T he se c h a p t e r s i n c l u d e a d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e a r t i l l e r yo r g a n i z a t i o n f o r co mb at , a nd a summary o f t h e co mb at a c t i o nd u r i ng t h e f i r s t and t h i r d d a y s of t h e b a t t l e , f o c u s i n g ont h e c r i t i c a l co mba t a c t i o n s d u r i n g wh ic h a r t i l l e r y p l a y e d am aj or r o l e . C h a p t er Fo ur c o n c l u d e s t h e s t u d y by p r o v i d i n g af i n a l a n a l y s i s o f t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n of t h e Union a r t i l l e r y t ot h e outcome a t G e t t y s b u r g .

N ap ol eo n m ax im iz ed t h e p o t e n t i a l o f a r t i l l e r y a s a no f f e n s i v e w eap on . H i s a r t i l l e r y cou ld r ange the enemyi n f a n t r y e a s i l y w i th ou t p l a c i n g i t s e l f a t r i s k . W hile t h ee f f e c t i v e r a ng e o f t h e a r t i l l e r y c a n i s t e r p r o j e c t i l e was300 t o 400 y a r d s , t h e smoo thbor e muske t u sed by oppos ingi n f a n t r y was e f f e c t i v e t o a range of no more than 150 y a r d s .T h i s s i t u a t i o n h ad c ha ng ed by t h e o pe ni n g of t h e C i v i l War.The c h an ge r a d i c a l l y a l t e r e d how a r t i l l e r y was employed andt h e m i s s i o n s it p e r f o r m e d .

The American C i v i l War was t h e f i r s t American war i nwhich t h e o p p os in g i n f a n t r i e s were armed a lmos t e n t i r e l y w i t hr i f l e d small arms.* T h e p r e s e n c e o f r i f l e s i n t h e h a nd s o fo p p o s i n g i n f a n t r y a f f e c t e d a r t i l l e r y i n two ways. One w a s t op l a c e a r t i l l e r y m e n a t r i s k o f b e i n g wounded o r k i l l e d whent h e y e mployed t h e i r g u ns c l o s e e nou gh t o o p po s i ng i n f a n t r y t of i r e c a n i s t e r . T h e S p r i n g f i e l d and E n f i e l d r i f l e s , t h o s e m o s t

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commonl y used at Cet t ysbur g, wer e a t hr eat at a r ange of 300yar ds , c l osel y r i val i ng t he maxi mum ef f ec t i ve range ofcani st er . Ther ef or e, t he empl acement of cannon t o f i r ecani s t er , espec i al l y i n t he of f ense, pr oved t o be anext r emel y r i sky pr opos i t i on f or gunner s . The necess i t y f orsel f - pr eser vat i on f or ced ar t i l l er ymen to pos i t i on t hei r gunsaway f r om t he enemy i nf ant r y . Thi s act i on adver sel y af f ect edt he ef f ect i venes s of ar t i l l er y f i r e as i t t ook t he guns outof ef f ect i ve cani st er r ange and r educed t h e accur acy of al lot her pr oj ec t i l es . 3 I n addi t i on, t he gr eat l y i nc reasedr ange and accur acy of t he r i f l e f or c ed t he i nf ant r y s ol di er ,par t i cul ar l y i n t he def ense, t o seek cover f r om enemy r i f l ef i r e, pr ovi di ng pr ot ec t i on not onl y f r om enemy r i f l es , butal so f r om enemy ar t i l l ery.

Ar t i l l er y i n t he Ci vi l War was of t wo t ypes , f ootar t i l l er y and f i el d ar t i l l er y. Foot ar t i l l er y r ef er r ed t ot hose weapons and per sonnel used t o conduot si eges, pr ot ectgar r i son f ac i l i t i es and coas t al f or t i f i cat i ons . Weapons usedby t he f oot ar t i l l er y wer e ei t her l ar ge f i xed cannon, orl ar ge sem - mobi l e cannon used i n s i ege oper at i ons. Genera l l y ,even t he cannon i n t he f oot ar t i l l er y whi oh coul d be movedwer e so l ar ge and heavy t hat i t was not possi bl e f or t hem t omaneuver on t he open bat t l ef i el d. Thi s was t he r e spons i bi l i t yof t he f i el d ar t i l l er y, or l i ght ar t i l l er y as i t wassomet i mes oal l ed. I t was t he f i el d ar t i l l er y s r es pons i bi l i t yt o maneuver on t he bat t l ef i el d and pr ovi de suppor t t o t he

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maneuver f or ces. 5Fi el d ar t i l l er y was f ur t her di vi ded i nt o t he hor se

ar t i l l er y and mount ed ar t i l l er y. Hor se ar t i l l er y t ypi c al l ywas empl oyed i n suppor t of caval r y oper at i ons wher e i t wasr equi r ed that t he ar t i l l er y be as mobi l e as t he uni t i tsuppor t ed. To do t hi s t he gun cr ews r ode on hor sebackal ongs i de t hei r guns . Men i n t he mount ed ar t i l l er y ei t herwal ked al ongsi de t hei r guns, or r ode at op t he ammuni t i onches t s i f t he s i t uat i on r equi r ed. 8 Dur i ng t he bat t l e atGet t ysbur g onl y f i el d ar t i l l er y uni t s wer e dec i s i vel yengaged, al t hough one bat t er y o f 20- pounder Par r ot t r i f l es , ar el at i vel y heavy weapon, accompani ed t he ar my t o Get t ysbur g.

Ri f l ed bar r el s wer e i nt r oduced f or a r t i l l er y weaponsal ongs i de t he r i f l ed musket f or i nf ant r y. Thi s af f or ded t hear t i l l er y many of t he same benef i t s enj oyed by t he r i f l eman.I ncr eased r ange and accur acy wer e t wo of t hes e. Ri f l i ngenabl ed the ar t i l l er y cannon to f i r e pr oj ec t i l es t hat wer eobl ong i n shape. Thi s meant l ar ger pro j ec t i l es coul d be f i r edout of t he same si ze bor e f ound on a smoot hbor e cannon f i r i ngspher i cal ammuni t i on. The obl ong pr oj ect i l e was mor eaer odynam cal l y shaped, of f er i ng l e s s wi nd r es i st ance. 7

A wi de var i et y o f ar t i l l er y weapons wer e used dur i ngt he Ci vi l War , many of whi ch wer e devel oped i n r esponse t owar t i me needs. Bot h smoot hbor e and r i f l ed ar t i l l er y pi ecessaw act i on t hr oughout t he war , t o i nc l ude t he bat t l e atGet t ysbur g. Pr i or t o t he war t he 6- pounder smoot hbor e gun wast he most common ar t i l l er y weapon i n use by t he f i el d

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a r t i l l e r y . I t had seen c o n s i d e r a b l e a c t i o n i n t h e MexicanWar.e By t h e b e gi n ni n g o f t h e C i v i l War, t h e 12-poundersmoothbore g u n , Model 1 857, commonly r e f e r r e d t o as t h eNapoleon, had become t h e f a v o r i t e s m oo th b or e c an n on . I n t h eArmy o f t h e P ot om ac , t o a l a rge e x t e n t , i t r e p l a c e d t h e6-pounder smoot hbore and t h e 12-pounder s moo thb ore , Model1841-44, a gun we igh ing ove r 500 pounds more than theNapolaon.9

T h e most common s mo ot hb or e gun us ed by t h e Army o ft h e Potomac a t G e t t y s b u r g was t he 12 -pounde r Napo leon . 10T h e m os t w i d e l y u s e d r i f l e d gu n was t h e 3- In ch O rd nan ce r i f l ea nd , t o a l e s s e r e x t e n t , t h e 10 and 20-pounder P a r r o t t s . Oft h e l a t t e r , t h e 3 - Inch Ordnance r i f l e was p r e f e r r e d . I t sw ro ug ht i r o n c o n s t r u c t i o n was s t r o n g e r a nd more r e l i a b l e t h a nt h e c a s t i r on P a r r o t t s , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e o f t h e l a r g e rc a l i b e r s w h i c h o f t e n ex p l o d e d. T he 5 t h N e w York B a t t e r yr e p o r t e d t h a t o ne of i t s 2 0- Po un de r P a r r o t t s e x p lo d ed d u r i n gt h e c an n on a de wh ic h pr e ce d e d P i c k e t t s c h a r g e o n 3 J u l y ,f o r t u n a t e l y i n j u r y i n g no o n e . 1 1 I t is i m po r ta n t t o n o t et h a t s m oo th bo re and r i f l e d c ann on e ac h had t h e i r s p e c i f i ca d v a n t a g e s o n t h e b a t t l e f i e l d . The s mo ot hb or e was a morec a p a bl e weapon t o de fe nd a g a i n s t an i n f a n t r y a s s a u l t . I t sc a n i s t e r p r o j e c t i l e was l a r g e r a nd more e f f e c t i v e t h a n t h ec a n i s t e r round f ound w i t h t h e r i f l e d g u ns d ue t o i t s l a r g e rb o re d i a m e t e r . 1 2 The r i f l e d g u n - s b e t t e r a c cu r ac y and longerrange p ro ve d t o be more e f f e c t i v e i n a c o u n te r - b at t e r y r o l e .

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T h e c o u n t e r - b a t t e r y m i s s i o n was u s u a l l y g i ve n t o t h o s eb a t t e r i e s which c o n s i s t e d p r i m a r i l y o f r i f l e d c a n n o n . 1 3

A r t i l l e r y cannon were l i n e - o f - s ig h t d i r e c t f i r eweapons . The l a c k of s o p h i s t i c a t e d f i r e c o n t r o l systemsa ll ow ed g u n n er s t o e ng ag e e f f e c t i v e l y o n l y t h o s e t a r g e t s t h e yc o u l d s e e . Th e e x t e n d e d range o f t h e r i f l e d g u n was ac a p a b i l i t y t h a t w a s d i f f i c u l t t o e x p l o i t . The d i f f i c u l t y i no b s e r v i n g t h e r o un d i m p a c t i n g a t maximum range p r e v e n t e du s i n g t h e r i f l e d g u n s f u l l r a ng e c a p a b i l i t y . F o r t h i s samer ea so n f i r i n g a t n i g h t was c o n s id e r e d t o be a waste o fammunition and w a s n o r m a l l y n o t d o n e . 1 4 A p p e n d i x Ai d e n t i f i e s t h e pr imary a r t i l l e r y w ea po ns u s ed d u r i n g t h eC i v i l War and t h e i r r a ng e c a p a b i l i t i e s .

T h e S o ut h s l i m i t e d i n d u s t r i a l c a p a c i t y , i nc o n j u n c t i o n w i t h t h e N o r t h s b l o ck a d e o f t h e S o u t h , f o r c e dt h e C o n f e d e r a t e a r t i l l e r y t o use w h a t e v er g u n s t h e y c o u l da c q u i r e . T h i s m ea nt t h a t some fo ur -g un C o n f e d er a t e b a t t e r i e sc on ta i n ed u p t o t h r e e d i f f e r e n t c a l i b e r s . 1 6 T h i s c r e a t e da s i g n i f i c a n t l o g i s t i c a l p rob lem by r e q u i r i n g t h a t a s i n g l eb a t t e r y m a in ta i n s e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t t y p e s of ammuni t ion onhand. A t t h e b e g in n in g o f t h e C i v i l War t h e Army of t h eP o t o ma c o r g a n i z e d i t s b a t t e r i e s i n t e n t i o n a l l y w i t h a mix ofc a l i b e r s . The most common mix was t h e p l ac e m en t of two r i f l e dc an no n w i t h f o u r s m o ot h b or e N a p ol e o ns . T h i s was i n te n de d t oa l l ow t h e b a t t e r y t o p l a c e e f f e c t i v e c o un t e r -b a t t er y f i r e onenemy a r t i l l e r y u n i t s w h il e r e s e r v i n g t h e Na po le on s f o r c l o s ei n f i g h t i n g where i t s s u p e r i o r c a n i s t e r p r o j e c t i l e was h i g h l y

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f a v o r e d . A s t h e war p r og r es s ed , b a t t e r i e s i n t h e Army o f t h ePotomac were o rga n ize d w i t h on ly one t y p e of g u n per b a t t e r y .O t h e r Union armies , su ch a s t h e Army o f t he Cumber l and , s t i l lhad b a t t e r i e s t h a t r e t a i n e d a mix of gun t y p e s , m os t l i k e l y ar e s u l t o f t h e Army o f t h e P ot om ac s f a v o re d s t a t u s i n t h eUnion i n terms o f r e c e i v i n g new equ ipmen t .

A v a r i e t y of p r o j e c t i l e s were u s e d t h r o u g h o u t t h ewar. The most common were c a n i s t e r , s h o t , s h e l l , and c a s e .C a n i s t e r was by f a r t h e most e f f e c t i v e p r o j e c t i l e a g a i n s ta s s a u l t i n g i n f a n t r y , b u t i t was l i m i t e d by an e f f e c t i v e r a n geo f n o t m ore t h a n 40 0 y a r d s . l e A c a n i s t e r r ou nd c o n s i s t e d o fa p p r o x i m a t e l y t w en ty - se ve n s o l i d metal b a l l s p ack ed i n a t i ncan a t op a powder ch a rg e . When f i r e d t h e t i n o u t e r s h e l ls h e a r e d away a n d t h e meta l b a l l s i n s i d e a ssumed a t r a j e c t o r ys i m i l i a r t o a modern d a y s h o t g u n s h e l l . When t h e s i t u a t i o nr e q u i r e d , g u n n e r s w ou ld s o m e t im e s l oa d a d ou bl e o r t r i p l ec ha rg e of c a n i s t e r t o i nc re a s e f u r t h e r t h e number o f l e t h a lp r o j e c t i l e s f i r e d a t one t i m e . S h o t was a s o l i d meta l b a l lu s ed f o r kn oc ki ng down f o r t i f i c a t i o n s o r b u i l d i n g s . S h otc o n t a i n e d a c o n s i d e r a b l e amount of k i n e t i c e n e r gy a s itt r a v e l e d d ow nr an ge . S h e l l was a hol low metal b a l l f i l l e d w i t ha n e x p l o s i v e . I t w a s d e t o n a t e d b y a b u r n i n g t i m e fuze. I f t h et ime f u z e o p e r at e d p r o p e r l y t h e o u t e r metal c a s i n g wo uldf r a g m e nt upon d e t o n a t i o n . Case was s i m i l i a r t o s h e l l b u t i ti nc luded numerous metal b a l l s w i t h i n t h e h ol lo we d o u t c e n t e r .A powder charge was t h en i n s e r t e d i n t o t h e c e n t e r de s ig n ed t o


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d e t o n a t e t h e p r o j e c t i l e once t h e t ime f u z e f u n c t i o n e d . T h emeta l b a l l s added t o t h e f r a gm e n ta t io n e f f e c t by c r e a t i n ga d d i t i o n a l l e t h a l f r a gm e nt s . I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e s t a n d a r dp r o j e c t i l e s a l r e a d y d e s c r i b e d , a l l of which were used by bo ths i d e s a t G e t t y sb u rg , o t h e r t y p e s o f p r o j e c t i l e s found t h e i rway o n t o t h e b a t t l e f i e l d . Warren Lee Goss , a p r i v a t e i nHancock ' s I1 Co r p s a t G e t t y sb u rg , r e p o r t e d t h a t d u r i n g t h ec an no na de on t h e t h i r d d a y Re be l b a t t e r i e s were u s i n gr a i l r o a d i r o n and o t h e r m i s s i l e s a l o n g w i t h t h e s t a n da r dp r o j e c t i l e s . 7

T he t e c h n o l o g y o f t h e t ime, c o u p l e d w i t h wartimen e e d s, c r e a t e d r e l i a b i l i t y p ro b le m s w i t h o rd n an c e. The mostp ronounced p rob lems were w i th f u z e s . T h e C o n f e d e r a t e s w e r ep l ag u ed e s p e c i a l l y by t h e s e p r o bl em s , p r i m a r i l y a s a r e s u l tof p oo r q u a l i t y c o n t r o l d u r i n g t h e m a n u fa c tu r in g p r o c e s s . T h eBormann t ime f u z e , u s e d b y b o t h s i d e s , p ro ve d on s e v e r a lo c c a s i o n s t o b e v i r t u a l l y u s e l e s s . l e An example of t h i s wasa t C h a n c e l l o r s v i l l e wh er e t h e C o n f e d e r at e s r e p o r t e d o n l y o nei n f i f t e e n s h e l l s d e to n a te d p r o p e r l y . l a On o t h e r o c c as i on st h e y would d e t o n a t e t h e r ou nd p r e m a t u r e l y , e n d a n g e r i n gf r i e n d l y f o r c s s . 2 0 A r e l a t e d p ro bl em e x i s t e d w i t h c o n t a c tf u z e s f i r e d f ro m r i f l e d g u n s . Al t h o u g h t h e r i f l i n g e n a b l e dt h e u s e o f s p i n - s t a b i l i z e d , c o n i c a l shaped p r o j e c t i l e s whicha s s u re d t h e g u n n e r of a p o i n t - f i r s t c o n t a c t w i t h a t a r g e t ,t h e p o i n t d e t o n a t i n g f u z e would a l low t h e r ou nd t o b u r yi t s e l f i n s o f t d i r t b e f o r e i t wou ld f u n c t i o n . Hany times t h er o un d wo ul d d e t o n a t e a t a d e p t h t h a t s e r i o u s l y r e t a r d e d t h e

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e f f e c t i v e n e s s of t h e r o u n d . 2 1T h e o r g a n i z a t i o n ' o f a r t i l l e r y u n i t s p r ov ed t o be a

c o n t i n u a l pr ob le m f o r t h e Army of t h e Potomac . A s t h e warp r o g r e s s e d t h e armies e x p e r i m e n t e d w i t h a s e r i e s of a r t i l l e r yo r g a n i z a t i o n s . The b a s i c a r t i l l e r y o r g a n i z a t i o n a t t h eb e g i n n in g o f t h e C i v i l War was t h e b a t t e r y . S ix-gun b a t t e r i e swere p r e f e r r e d , b u t four -gun b a t t e r i e s d i d e x i s t , p r i m a r i l yi n t h e S o u th . 22 F o u r g u n s i n a b a t t e r y i n s t e a d of s i x wasu s u a l l y t h e r e s u l t of a s h o r t a g e of g u ns r a t h e r t h a n a m a t t e ro f c h o i c e .

D i s t r i b u t i o n o f a r t i l l e r y a s s e t s i n s u p p o r t o fmaneuver u n i t s on t h e b a t t l e f i e l d was t h e most c o n t r o v e r s i a la s pe c t o f a r t i l l e r y o r g a ni z a t i o ns . A t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h ewar t h e a r t i l l e r y was o r g a n i z e d i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e a r m y ' se x p e r i e n c e s i n t h e M ex ic an W ar. 2" B a t t e r i e s w e r e a s s i g n e da t t h e b r i g a d e and re g i m e n t al l e v e l . T h i s r e s u l t e d i n t h ep i e c e m e al commi tment o f a r t i l l e r y a t t h e d i s c r e t i o n of t h ev a r i o u s m an eu ve r c om ma nd er s. T h e r e e x i s t e d n o v i a b l e means ofc e n t r a l i z e d c o n t r o l o r c o nc en t ra t io n o f a r t i l l e r y . I t a l s or e s u l t e d i n a r t i l l e r y r em ai ni ng i d l e i f i t s s u pp o rt e d u n i twas n o t e n g a g e d .

A t t e m p t s a t c o r r e c t i n g t h i s s i t u a t i o n were not madeu n t i l a f t e r t h e F i r s t B a t t l e o f Bull Run. T h i s b a t t l er e v e a l e d t h e p r ob l em s w i t h t h e uncoor d in a te d employment o fa r t i l l e r y on t h e b a t t l e f i e l d . When G e n e ra l McCle l l an tookcommand of t h e Army of t h e P ot om ac a f t e r B u l l Run h e

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appo in ted Ma jo r William F . B a r r y as h i s C h i e f - o f -A r t i l l er y .A s s i s t i n g M aj or Barry was Major Henry J . H un t, t h e o f f i c e rd e s t i n e d t o r e p l a c e B a r r y , an d e v e n t u a l l y become a k e y p l a y e ri n t h e b a t t l e a. t G e t t y sb u rg . B a r r y , a s s i s t e d by H un t,d e v e l o p e d a s e t of p r i n c i p l e s t o be u se d i n e s t a b l i s h i n ga r t i l l e r y o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n M cC l e l l an ' s army. The p r i n c i p l e se s t a b l i s h e d b y Barry and d e t a i l e d i n t h e O f f i c i a l Records oft h e War o f t h e R e b e l l i o n are i n Appendix B .

T h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e a r t i l l e r y r e s e r v e wase s p e c i a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t . I t was a n o r g a n i z a t i o n s i m i l i a r t ot h e r e s e r v e u s e d by N a p ol e o n. A l t h o u g h i t s s i z e f l u c t u a t e dfrom i t s i nc ep t i on t o t h e b a t t l e a t G e t t y s b u r g , i t c o n s i s t e dof a p p r o x i m a t e l y o n e - t h i r d o f t h e army's guns .** I t sm i s si o n i n c l u d e d n o t o n l y s u p p l em e n t i n g t h e f i r e s o f t h i ;a r t i l l e r y s u p p o r t i n g t h e man euve r f o r c e s , b u t i t c o u l d alsop e r f o r m s p e c i a l mi ss io ns f o r t h e a rmy commander when i t wasn o t f e a s i b l e t o wi th dr aw a b a t t e r y i n s u p p or t o f a d i v i s i o no r c o r p s .

I t i s o bv io us t h a t t h e Army o f the Potomac wasc o nc e rn e d w i t h u s i n g t h e a r t i l l e r y i n t h e most e f f e c t i v emanner p o s s i b l e . I t s o f f e n s i v e p o t e n t i a l was c e r t a i n l yr educed compared t o i t s e x p l o i t s u n de r Na po le on , b u t i t sd e s t r u c t i v e c a p a b i l i t i e s were r e c o g n i z e d as t h e A r m y of t h eP ot om ac s o u g h t t o c r e a t e t h e most e f f i c i e n t o r g an i z a t io n f o ru s e on t h e b a t t l e f i e l d . When t h e Army of t he Po tomac and th eArmy o f N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a f a c e d e a c h o t h e r a t G e t t y s b u r g , t h eF e d e r a l s h a d w i t h them a new o r g an iz a t io n , one wh ich t h e y

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hoped would f i n a l l y y i e l d t h e r e s u l t s s o u gh t on p r e v i o u sb a t t l e f i e l d s .

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CHAPTER I

ENDNOTES

1 Ri c h a r d A . P r e s t o n a nd S y dn ey F . Wise,( N e w Y or k: H o l t , R i n e h a r t an d W i n st o n , 1 9 7 9 ) , 191.Z I b i d . , 2 4 7 .V a r d e l l E . N e s m i t h , T h e e t P a r n d i n m : Theof the Unitedi v e r s i t y M i c r o f i l m s

I n t e r n a t i o n a l , 1 9 79 ), 16 .* I b i d .6William H . F r a n k , Will iam F . Barry, and Henry J .Hu n t , I nstruoti on f o r F ( Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C . :

G ove rnm en t P r i n t i n g O f f i c e , 1 6 6 4 ) , 1 .. .e I b i d .'Warren R i p l e y ,P r o m o n t o r y P r e s s , 1970), 1 5 .e H a r o l d L . P e t e r s o n ,( H a r r i s b u r g , PA: S t a c k p o l e B o ok s , 1 9 6 9 ) , 9 1 .e I b i d . , 9 2 .l o J a c k C o g g i n s , - of t h e C l V l l kU

( N e w York :.

. .(Garden C i t y , NY: Doubleday and Company, I n c . , 1962), 6 1 .

ll0.S. Department of War, The War n f t h eo f o f t h e.( W a s h i n gt o n , D .C . : G ov er nm en t P r i n t i n gO f f i c e , 1880-1901 , S e r i e s I , Volume X X V I I , P a r t 1, 891.1 2 P e t e r s o n , 95.LaNesmith , 21.I r C o g g i n s , 82.I a I b i d . , 64 .I B I b i d . , 6 2 .

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17Warren L . Go s s . R e c a l l e c t i o n s o f a Privata (NewYork: Thomas Y. Crowell and Co., 1890), 2 1 3 .LeRipley, 2 7 .LaCoggins, 6 2 .ZoBruce Catton, New Y o r k : Doubleday andCompany, I n c . , 1952), 63-64.ZlCogpins, 64.zZIbid., 63.ZsNesmith, 23.ZdIbid., 36.

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CHAPTER 2

GETTYSBURG - THE FIRST D A YThe e l 0 t i o n o f t h e c o u n t r y s i d e s ur r o u nd i n g t h e

small fa rming communi ty o f Ge t tysburg f o r t h e p i v o t a l b a t t l eb e t w e e n t h e Army of t h e Potomac and t h e Army of Nor the rnV i r g i n i a was a c h o i ce whic h r e f l e c t e d t h e p a r t t h a t chancep l a y s i n war . N e i t h e r p r e d e t e r m i n e d n o r p r e p l a n n e d , b o t harmies conve rged on t h i s small P e n n s y l v a n i a town p r e p a r e d t os e c u r e t h e v i c t o r y e ac h s o d e s p e r a t e l y n e ed e d. The N o r t h ,s t i n g i n g from i t s d e f e a t a t C h a n c e l l o r s v i l l e , a n x i o u s l ys o u g h t a v i c t o r y t o quell t h e r i s i n g a c t i v i t y of t h e p e a c ep a r t y a t home. T h e Army o f t h e P o t o m a c s s u p e r i o r n u m b e r sb o t h i n p e r s o n n e l a nd e q ui p m en t had n o t y e t y i e l de d t h ee x p e c t e d r e s u l t s as i t had c on d u ct e d s e v e r a l l a b o r i o u scampaigns un de r t h e command o f a success ion of commandersn ot ed f o r t h e i r i n e p t i t u d e a nd c a u t i o u s p r o s ec u t i on o f t h ewar.

The A r m y o f N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a w a s also u n d e r p r e s s u r eb e c a u se t h i s c a mp ai gn was c o n du c te d on Union t e r r i t o r y . S h o r to f s u p p l i e s n eede d t o s u s t a i n t h e war, G e n e r a l Lees d e c i s i o nt o move h i s a rmy n or th had been based not o n l y on t h en e c e s s i t y t o l o c a t e s u p p l i e s f o r h i s army b u t , by t a k i n g t h ewar t o t h e n o r t h and t h r e a t e n i n g B a l t i mo r e, P h i l a d e l p h i a ,H a r r i s b u r g , a nd p o s s i b l y W a sh in gt on , t h e S ou t h hoped t o f o r c e

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t h e N o rt h t o n e g o t i a t e an end t o t h e war on terms f a v o r a b l et o t h e C o n f e d e r a c y . I t w a s a l s o f e l t t h a t a v i c t o r y i n t h en o r t h was n ee de d i f t h e r e was t o b e a n y h o pe o P s e c u r i n ga c t i v e f o r e i g n i n t e r v e n t i o n on be h al f o f t h e S o u t h . 1

I n t h e i r c o n t i n u i ng s e a rc h f o r t h e most e f f e c t i v e ande f f i c i e n t means of e m p lo yi n g a r t i l l e r y , s i g n i f i c a n t c ha ng eshad been made t o bo th a r m i e s ' a r t i l l e r y o r g a n i z a t i o n sf o l l o w i n g C h a n c e l l o r s v i l l e . I n t h e Army of t h e Potomac t h e r ewas an a t t e m p t t o p l a c e a t l e a s t some of t h e b la me f o r t h eloss a t on t h e a r t i l l e r y r e s e r v e which , i t was s a i d , r e m a i n e di d l e w h il e i n f a n t r y u n i t s w anted f o r a r t i l l e r y s u p p o r t .A c t u a l l y , m a n y of t h e a r t i l l e r y r e s e r v e ' s b a t t e r i e s weret aken f r om t h e r e s e r v e and g i ve n t o t h e i n f a n t r y d i v i s i o n sb e f o r e t h e b a t t l e . T hose u n i t s r em a in i ng i n t h e r e s e r v ec o n s i s t e d p r i m a r i l y of 2 0-pounder P a r r o t t r i f l e s , whose s i z ea nd w e i g h t made t he m i m p r a c t i c a l f o r u s e i n t h e d e n s e woodswhere t h e b a t t l e t o ok p l a c e . T h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t h e l i g h t e rand more m o bi l e a r t i l l e r y u n i t s f rom t h e r e s e r v e t o t h ed i v i s i o n s had r e s u l t e d i n many o f t h e s e b a t t e r i e s r em ai ni ngi d l e , w h i l e o t h e r s f ou g ht f o r t h e i r l i v e s . T he te nd en cy f o ri n f a n t r y g e n e r a l s j e a l o u s l y t o h ol d o n t o a n y a t t a c h e da r t i l l e r y , a r e f l e c t i o n o f t h e h i s t o r i c a l use of a r t i l l e r y ,c om bi ne d w i t h t h e l o s s o f t a c t i c a l command a u t h o r i t y by t h earmy's C h i e f - o f - A r t i l l e r y , B r i g a d i e r G e n e r al H en ry J . Hunt ,were t h e r o o t c a u s e s of t h e p oo r a r t i l l e r y s u p p o r t r e n d e r e da t C h a n c e l l o r s v i l l e . 2

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Af t er Chancel l or sv i l l e Gener al Hooker r ecogni zed hi sm st ake, and r es t or ed Gener a l Hunt t o hi s f or mer pos i t i on ofaut hor i t y as t he need f or mor e cent r al i zed cont r o l ofar t i l l er y had become appar ent . The need t o pr event t hepi ecemeal empl oyment of ar t i l l er y bat t er i es , pl us t her equi r ement t o empl oy ar t i l l er y asset s t o wei ght t he c r i t i calsec t or , pr ompt ed t he f i nal r eor gani zat i on of t he Ar my of t heP ot omac s ar t i l l er y bef or e Get t ys bur g.

The at t r i t i on of Uni on di vi s i ons had l ef t t he cor psas t he bas i c t act i cal uni t of t he Ar my of t he Pot omac. Huntt her ef or e t ook the bat t er i es away f r om t he di v i s i ons andf or med t hem i nt o br i gades whi ch suppor t ed t he cor ps. Thi sar t i l l er y br i gade or gani zat i on was f or mer l y adopt ed by t hear my on 2 May 1863 as publ i shed i n Speci a l Or der s No. 12Y( Appendi x C).3 Under t hi s new or gani zat i on each i nf ant r ycor ps was t o have one ar t i l l er y br i gade, t he c aval r y cor pst wo, and t he ar t i l l er y r es er ve f i ve. On t he aver age eachbr i gade had f i ve bat t er i es of s i x guns each, mak i ng i t c l oseri n s i z e t o a pr es ent d ay bat t al i on. I t i s bel i eved t hat t hepr i mar y r eason Hunt chose t o cal l t hi s new or gani zat i on abr i gade was t o secur e a r ank commensur at e wi t h t he l evel ofr esponsi bi l i t y whi ch accompani ed t he command of i nf ant r ybr i gades. Hunt had l ong f ought t he di spar i t y i n t he r ankst r uct ur e bet ween t he ar t i l l er y and t he ot her br anches . Thef r ont age of a bat t er y i n pos i t i on on t he bat t l ef i el dappr oxi mat ed t hat of an i nf ant r y r egi ment wi t h t he f i r epowert o mat ch. As br i gades i n t he Ar my of t he Pot omac had f r om

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t hr ee t o s i x r egi ment s , wi t h t he maj or i t y havi ng f i ve, i t i seasy t o under st and why Hunt bel i eved t hat t he ar t i l l er ybr i gade was equi val ent t o an i nf ant r y br i gade, and t her ef or ewhy i t s commander shoul d wear t he appr opr i at e r ank.Unf or t unat el y, i n s pi t e of al l hi s ef f or t s c onc er ni ng t hi smat t er , t he cor ps ar t i l l er y br i gades mar ched t o Get t ysbur gunder t he command of t wo col onel s , one l i eut enant col onel ,one maj or , ni ne capt ai ns, and one l i eut enant . +

The Ar my of Nor t hern Vi r gi ni a went i n t he opposi t edi r ec t i on i n i t s ar t i l l er y r eor gani z at i on. Bel i evi ng, as s omehad i n i t s Uni on count er par t , t hat t oo many guns r emai nedi dl e when ass i gned t o an ar my r eser ve, t he r eser ve ar t i l l er ywas di sbanded. 5 The scar c i t y of ar t i l l er y weapons, coupl edwi t h t he l ack of a s t r ong Chi ef - of - Ar t i l l er y wi t h commandaut hor i t y, seemed t o j us t i f y t hi s change. Al l ar t i l l er y wasdi s t r i but ed t o t he cor ps , wi t h one bat t al i on at t ached t o eachdi vi s i on, and t wo bat t al i ons f or a cor ps r eser ve. Conf eder at ebat t al i ons wer e somewhat s mal l er t han t he Uni on br i gade. Eachbat t al i on gener al l y had f our bat t er i es of f our t o s i x gunseach. T he r el egat i on of al l ar t i l l er y s uppor t t o t he cor ps ,and t he pl acement of t he a r my - s Chi ef - of - Ar t i l l er y, Br i gadi erGener al W l l i am N Pendl et on, i n a pos i t i on of bei ng onl y anadvi sor t o t he ar my commands r , was t o have a dr amat i c i mpacton t he ef f ect i veness of Conf eder at e ar t i l l er y at Get t ysbur g. 6

I n l at e J une el ement s of bot h ar m es conver ged onGet t ysbur g, unawar e of each ot her s exact l ocat i on and

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d ispos i t ion . Ar ound midday on 30 J u n e , M aj or G e n e r a l J o h nB u fo r d s c a v a l r y d i v i s i o n , c o n s i s t i n g o f two b r i g a d es ofc a v a l r y and one b a t t e r y of h o rs e a r t i l l e r y , e n t e r e d t h e t own.Upon a r r i v i n g G e n e r al Bu fo rd l e a r n e d t h a t c o n f e d e r a t es o l d i e r s had b ee n i n the town e a r l i e r i n t h e day . They hads i n c e d e pa r te d t o t h e w e s t . After moving a s h o r t d i s t a n c e t ot h e west of G e t ty sb u r g on t h e Cash town r oa d , o r Chamber sbu rgP i k e as i t i s s o m e t i m e s c a l l e d , General B u f o r d s f o r c e s c ameunder small arms f i r e f ro m C o n f e de r a t e i n f a n t r y . Aware t h a ti n f a n t r y i n s t e a d of c a v a l r y co ul d i n d i c a t e t h e pr e se n ce o f al a r g e f o r c e , G e n e r a l Bu fo r d i m m e d i a te l y s e n t word t o Gene r a lP l e a s o n t o n , commander o f t h e C a v a l r y C o r p s , an d d e p l o y e ds c o u t i n g p a r t i e s t h r o u g h o u t t h e r e m a i n d e r o f t h e d a y andn i g h t i n a n e f f o r t t o d e t e r mi n e t h e e x t e n t o f t h e C o n f e d e r a t ef o r c e he had e n c o u n t e r e d .

S h o r t l y a f t e r daybr eak on 1 J u l y Ge ne ra l Buford wasi n fo rm e d by c o u r i e r s t h a t enemy i n f a n t r y was moving towardG e t t y s b u r g o n t h e Ca sh to wn r o a d . R e c o g n i zi n g t h e s t r a t e g i cl o c a t i o n o f t h e c r o s s r o a d s town, and t h e d e f e n s i b l e t e r r a i nt o t h e west a nd s o u t h , G e n e r a l Bu fo rd d e c i d e d t o e s t a b l i s h ad e f e ns e and ho ld u n t i l r e l i e f came f r om Gen e r a l Reyno ld s IC o r p s .

T h e o n l y a r t i l l e r y ass g ne d t o General B u f o r d scommand was B a t t e r y A 2nd U.S A r t i l l e r y , commanded byL i e u t e n a n t J o h n H . C a l e f . L i e u t e n a n t C a l e f s b a t t e r yc o n s i s t e d o f six 3 -I nc h O rd na nc e r i f l e s . A lt ho ug h a c c u r a t e a tr a n g e s a smoo thbor e Napo leon cou ld no t m a t c h , t h i s g un was

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n o t w e l l s u i t e d f o r c l os e - i n f i g h t i n g a g a i n s t i n f a n t r y s i n c ei t s c a n i s t e r r ou nd was s u b s t a n t i a l l y s ma l l e r t h an t h e l a r g e rbored Napoleon . I n i t i a l l y L i e u t e n a n t C a l e f was gi v e n t h eo p p o r t u n i t y t o s e l e c t h i s own p o s i t i o n t o s u p p or t t h ed ismounted cava lrymen a lo ng McPherson Ri dge . A f t e r he hadmoved h i s b a t t e r y i n t o p o s i t o n , General B u f o r d d i r e c t e d h i mt o leave one m o t i o n , a s e c t i o n c o n s i s t i n g of two g u ns , n o r t hof t h e Cashtown r o a d , o ne s e c t i o n t o t h e s o u t h of t h e r o a d ,and h i s t h i r d s e c t i o n a pp ro xi m at e l y 600 y a r d s s o u t h o f t h er oa d t o c o v er a n open f i e l d beyond McPherson Woods.7 Ca l e fp l a c e d h i s r i g h t s e c t i o n on t h e n o r t h s i d e o f r o a d , an d hisl e f t s e c t i o n on t h e s o u t h s i d e . C a l e f s c e n t e r s e c t i o n , l e dby a S e r g e a n t P e r g e l , moved t o t h e p o s i t i o n c o v e r i n g t h e openf i e l d beyond McPherson Woods. No soo ne r had C a l e f s ce n t e rs e c t i o n moved i n t o p o s i t i o n when t h e s o un d of r i f l e f i r ee r u p t e d a s B u f o r d s p i c k e t s e n c o u nt e r e d a d v a n ci n g C o nf e d e ra t es k i r m i s h e r s o f General H e t h s d i v i s i o n . The r i g h t s e c t i o n ,un de r t h e command of L i e u t e n a n t John W . R o d e r , f i r e d t h ef i r s t cannon s h o t o f t h e b a t t l e a t s e v e r a l mounted horsemens e en o b s e r v i n g t h e a c t i o n f rom a t o p t h e i r mounts on thes h o u l d e r of t h e C as ht ow n r 0 a d . e

I mmed ia te ly a f t e r f i r i n g , C a l e f s b a t t e r y and t h esu r r ou nd in g Union c ava lry men whom th e y were s u p p o r t i n g cameunde r f i r e f rom Major William J . P eg ra m s b a t t a l i o n o fa r t i l l e r y . 9p o s i t i o n o n

Pegrams b a t t a l i o n o f f i v e b a t t e r i e s had t ak en at h e n o r t h s i d e o f t h e Cashtown road on th e west

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Artillery Positions, 1 July a.m.

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s i d e o f W i l lougby Run, a meander ing s t ream r u n n i n g i n t h ev a l l e y w e s t of McPherson Ridge. Although a r e co r d i n d i c a t i n gt h e exac t number and t y p e of g uns wh ich compr i s ed Peg r am sb a t t e r i e s c ou ld n o t b e f ou nd , t h e a v e r a g e C o n f e d e r a t eb a t t e r y a t G e t t y s b u r g had f o u r g u n s . A s t h e a r t i l l e r y f i r ei n t e n s i f i e d on b o th s i d e s , so d i d t h e small arms f i r e a sC o n f e de r a t e i n f a n t r y a dv an ce d on t h e c a va l r ym e n . GeneralB u f o r d s c a v a l r y m e n a n d C a l e f s b a t t e r y f o u g ht H et h sd i v i s i o n and Pegrams b a t t a l i o n f o r ov e r an ho ur b e f o r er e l i e f a r r i v e d . G e n e r al Wad sw ort hs F i r s t D i v i s i o n of t h eI C o r p s moved o n t o M cPh erso n R i d ge t o r e l i e v e G e n e r a l B u f o r d sca va l r y on o r d e r s fr om Gen e r a l Reyno lds .10 Accompany ingGenera l W adswor th d i v i s i o n was th e 2nd Maine B a t t e r ycommanded by Captain James H a l l .

The a r t i l l e r y odds were p r e s e n t l y i n f av o r of t h eC o n f e de r a t e s . J o i n i n g Pegrams b a t t a l i o n was Major David D .M cI nt os h s b a t t a l i o n c o n s i s t i n g o f f o u r b a t t e r i e s emplacedo p p o s i t e Pegrams on t h e s o u t h s i d e o f t h e Ca sh tow n r o a d .

With n i n e b a t t e r i e s t o t a l i n g a p pr ox i ma te l y t h i r t y -s i x g u ns o p po si n g h i s o n e b a t t e r y o f s i x g u n s , L i e u t e n a n tC a l e f s s i t u a t i o n had i n d ee d become p r e c a r i o u s . As G e n e r a lW ad sw or th s i n f a n t r y r e l i e v e d B u f o r d s c a va l r ym e n , C a p t a i nHall was o r d e re d by G en e ra l R e yn ol ds t o r e l i e v e C a l e f sb a t t e r y a n d it was withdrawn by p i e c e t o t h e r e a r t o r e p l e n i s hi t s a mm un it io n c h e s t s a n d awai t o r d e r s . M e a n w h i l e , C a p t a i nH a l l , u n d e r o r d e r s f r o m G e n e r a l R e y n ol d s , moved h i s b a t t e r yof s i x 3- Inch Ordnance r i f l e s i n t o t h e p o s i t i o n p r e v i o u s l y

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o cc up ie d by C a l e f s r i g h t s e c t i o n on t h e n o r t h s i d e of t h eC a s h t o w n r o a d . 1 1

The a r t i l l e r y c o r r e l a t i o n of f o r c e s rem ainedu n c h a n g e d . C a p ta in Hal l f o un d h i m s e l f f a c i n g t h e s ameC on fe de ra te b a t t a l i o n s t h a t Calef had oppos ed, on ly now t h ei n f a n t r y t h r e a t was g r e a t e r as Ha l l r ec e i ve d word of enemyon h i s r i g h t f l a n k f ro m o ne o f h i s l i e u t e n a n t s who commandedh i s r i g h t s e c t i o n . T h e l i e u t e n a n t had a l r e a d y r e d i r e c t e d t h ef i r e of t h e c e n t e r and r i g h t s e c t i o n s o f t h e b a t t e r y , f i r i n gd o u b l e c h a r g e s of c a n i s t e r i n t o t h e o n r u s h in g C o nf e de r at ei n fa n tr y me n c om ing o u t o f t h e r a i l r o a d c u t . As t h i s waso c c u r r i n g , Hal l n o t i c e d t h a t t h e Union i n f a n t r y l o c a t e d i nand around h i s p o s i t i o n w e r e w i t h d r aw i n g fr om t h e a r e a . 1 2B e L ie v in g t h a t i f t h e p o s i t i o n was t o o f a r f o r wa rd f o r thei n f a n t r y it w a s c e r t a i n l y t o o far f o r w a r d f o r a r t i l l e r y ,w i th o ut a w ai t i n g o r d e r s , he i n s t r u c t e d h i s b a t t e r y t ow it hd ra w by s e c t i o n t o t h e r e a r . Due t o t h e h a s t y w i t h dr a w a lby t h e i n f a n t r y , r e b e l i n f a n t r y was a b l e t o move q u i c k l y i n t or i f l e r a n g e . T hey d i s a b l e d t e n o f h i s h o r s e s , and f o r c e d H a l lt o a ba nd on o n e gu n f ro m h i s l a s t s e c t i o n . A lt ho ug h d i r e c t e dby General W ads wo rt h t o l e a v e t h e o ne g un b e h i n d , Hal ld e t a i l e d o ne se r g ean t a nd f i v e men t o a t t e m p t a r e s c u e o f t h ea ba n do n ed g u n . Un fo r tu n a t e ly , a l l s i x men were e i t h e r woundedo r c a p tu re d i n t h e a t t e m p t . W ad sw or th s o r d e r s t o H a l l a s hewi thdrew were t o s e t up h i s b a t t e r yG e t t y s b u r g an d c o v e r t h e w i t h d r a w a l

on t h e h e i g h t s ab ov eof t h e i n f a n t r y . 13

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As C a p t a i n H a l l s b a t t e r y was c o n d u c t i n g i t sw i th d ra w al , L i e u t e n a n t C a l e f s b a t t e r y w a s . re s u p p ly i n g i t sammunit ion c h e s t s n e a r t h e s e m i n a ry , l o c a t e d a b o u t o nehundred ya rd s so u t h o f t h e Cashtown road on Semina ry R idge .I t was h e r e t h a t Calef r e c e i v e d new o r d e r s f r o m G e n e r a lBuford . The message d i r e c t e d C a le f t o p l a c e o ne o f h i s g u n sin a p o s i t i o n n o r t h o f t h e Cashtown r oa d t o f i r e uponC on fe de ra te i n f a n t r y u s i n g t h e r a i l r o a d c u t as they movedt ow ar d t h e Union l i n e s . 1 4 Cale f i m me d ia te ly s e n t L i e u t e n a n tR od er w i t h on e gu n fr o m R o d e r s s e c t i o n t o a p o s i t i o n w h e r e i tc ou ld e n f i l a d e t h e c u t . T h i s g un , u s i n g c a n i s t e r , e f f e c t i v e l yp r e v e n t e d t h e use of t h e r a i l r o a d c u t by t h e r e be l f o r c e s , i fo n l y f o r a b r i e f t i m e .

I t was a b o u t t h i s same t ime t h a t W a d s w o r t h s d i v i s i o ns u c c e s s f u l l y recovered some of t h e p r e v i o u s l y l o s t g r ou nd .Because Hal l s b a t t e r y had moved t o t h e r e a r a nd c o u l d n o t b eq u i c k l y l o c a t e d , General Wadswor th r eq ues t e d f rom Col one lC h a r l e s W ai n wr ig h t, t h e I Corps a r t i l l e r y br igade commander ,t h a t he p r ov i d e a b a t t e r y t o s up p o r t h i s d i v i s i o n as i t wenton t h e o f f e n s i v e . C o l o n el Wa in wr ig ht r e f u s e d , s t a t i n g he d i dn o t w a n t t o p l a c e a b a t t e r y up o n l i n e u n t i l t h e r e wasi n f a n t r y a v a i l a b l e t o p r o t e c t i t s r i g h t f l an k .1 5 W a i n w r i g h tremembered t h e s i t u a t i o n wh ic h had f o r c e d t h e w i t h d r a w a l o fH a l l s b a t t e r y , and d i d n o t wan t a r e p e a t p e r f o r m a n c e .

What o c c u r r e d n e x t i n d i c a t e s t h e r e s o u r c e f u l n e s s o fWadsworth. U n w i l l i n g t o a c c e p t W ai nw ri gh t s r e f u s a l a s t h e

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f i n a l word on a r t i l l e r y s u p p o r t , Wadsworth l o c a t e d Calef andd i r e c t e d him t o r eo cc up y H a l l s r e c e n t l y v ac a te d p o s i t i o nw i t h h i s two re m ai n in g s e c t i o n s . l e T h i s p l a c e d C a l e f b a c ki n t o a c t i o n i n e s s e n t i a l l y t h e same l o c a t i o n he had s t a r t e dt h e b a t t l e e a r l i e r i n t h e m o rn in g. As s o o n a s C a l e f s b a t t e r ymoved i n t o p o s i t i o n a nd commenced f i r i n g , i t q u i c k l y bec am eengaged i n an a r t i l l e r y d u e l b et w ee n C a l e f s f o u r g u n s anda t l e a s t t h r e e Co n fe d er a te b a t t e r i e s t o t a l i n g a b ou t t we lv eg u n s . A f t e r a p pr o xi m at e ly f i f t e e n m in u te s , d u r i n g w hich t h eb a t t e r y s u s t a i n e d t we lv e c a s u a l t i e s , one o f t h e t h r e eC o n f e de r a t e b a t t e r i e s moved t o a p o s i t i o n on C a l e f s r i g h tf l a n k m aking t h e p o s i t i o n u n t e n a b l e . Calef was f o rc e d t ow it hd ra w t o t h e rea r a s h e l o c a t e d a p o s i t i o n whic h o f f e r e dmore p r o t e c t i o n f rom t h e r e b e l b a t t e r i e s .

Upon a r r i v i n g o n t h e f i e l d C o l o n e l W ai nw ri gh tp o s i t i o n e d t h e t h r e e b a t t e r i e s t h a t a cc om panied him on t h ee a s t s i d e o f S e m in a ry R i dg e t o await i n s t r u c t i o n s . 1 7 Amember of General D o u b l ed a y s s t a f f , D o ub le da y h a v i n g a ss um edcommand of I Co r p s a f t e r G en er al R ey no ld s d e a t h e a r l i e r t h a td a y , d i r e c t e d t h a t Wa in wr ig ht p l a c e a b a t t e r y on HcPhersonRidge. W a i nw r i gh t i m m ed i a t e ly r e c o n n o i t e r e d t h e p ro p o s e d s i t ea nd d e t e rm i n e d t h a t t h e p o s i t i o n , w hi ch w a s t o t a l l y w i t ho u ts u p p o r t , w o u l d p l a c e t h e o c cu py in g b a t t e r y a t r i s k . l e Nob a t t e r y was emplaoed i n t h e d i r e c t e d p o s i t i o n u n t i lD o u b l e da y s T h i r d D i v i s i o n , commanded b y B r i g a d i e r G e n e r a lRowle y, t o o k u p p o s i t i o n s on HcP he r so n Ri d ge w i t h C a p t a i nJames H . C o o p e r s B a t t e r y 0 , F i r s t P e nn s yl v an i a L i g h t

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A r t i l l e r y . 1 9 As General R o b i n s o n s S e c o n d D i v i s i o n o f ICorps moved o n t o th e wes te r n s l o p e o f S e m i na r y R id ge n o r t h o ft h e C as ht ow n r o a d , W a i nw r i gh t d i s p a t c h e d L i e u t e n a n t JamesS t e w a r t s Ba t t e ry B , 4 t h U . S . A r t i l l e r y i n s u p p o r t . 2 0

W ai nw ri gh t c o n t i n u e d h i s i n s p e c t i o n o f t h e Unionp o s i t i o n s , c o mi ng up on C a l e f s b a t t e r y s t i l l i n p o s i t i o nf i r i n g a t a ro u n d 1 p.m. R ea l i z i n g t h a t Calef needed immedia ter e l i e f ; he s e n t f o r o n e o f h i s t wo r e m a i n i n g un co m mi t te db a t t e r i e s , B a t t e r y L , F i r s t N e w York L i g h t A r t i l l e r y ,commanded by C a p t a i n G i l b e r t H . R e y n o ld s . A s R e y n o ld s b a t t e ry mo v e d up a l o n g s i d e C a l e f s g u n s, b o th b a t t e r i e s foundt h e m se l v e s ca u g h t i n a d e a d l y c r o s s f i r e f rom t h e C o n f e de r a teb a t t e r i e s p o s i t i o n ed t o t h e i r f r o n t a nd b a t t e r i e s now i np o s i t i o n o n ,O ak H i l l t o t h e i r r i g h t . B ot h b a t t e r i e s weref o r c e d t o w i th dr aw , w i t h C a p t a i n R ey no ld s b e i n g s e v e r e l ywounded d u r i n g t h e s h o r t t ime h i s b a t t e r y was i n t h e p o s i t i o n . 2 1

A s b o t h b a t t e r i e s moved t o new p o s i t i o n s 500 y a r ds t ot h e r e a r , Genera l Wadswor th was becoming concerned about t h ei nc re a s i ng nu mbe r o f C o n f e d e r a t e i n f a n t r y w h ic h was o p p o s i n gh i s d i v i s i o n . 2 2 I n a n a t t e m p t t o s e c u re more a r t i l l e r ysuppor t Wadswor th s e n t f o r C a p t a i n H a l l s b a t t e r y w hi ch h ehad e a r l i e r o rd er ed t o t h e r ea r t o c o v er h i s w it hd ra wi ngi n f a n t r y . H a l l s b a t t e r y moved west a l o n g t h e u n f i n i s h e dr a i l r o a d bed l e d by t h e s t a f f o f f i c e r s e n t t o l o c a t e t h e m .When h i s b a t t e r y a r r i v e d a t t h e r a i l r o a d c u t n o r t h o f t h eCashtown road i t imme d ia t e ly came u n d e r f i r e from C o n f e d e r a t e

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a r t i l l e r y . U nable t o t u r n a ro un d o r move o f f t o t h e s i d eb e c a u s e o f t h e n a r r o w n e s s o f t h e r a i l r o a d bed a nd s t e e p n e s so f t h e c u t s s i d e s , H al l o rd er ed h i s b a t t e r y t o a g a l l o p ast h e b a t t e r y moved f o r a d i s t a n c e of 1200 y a r d s t h r o u g h t h ec u t . A ma zi ng ly, t h e b a t t e r y s u s t a i n e d no damage o r c a s u a l t i e sdur ing the movement . A f t e r l o c a t i n g a s t a f f o f f i c e r t od e t e r m i n e w h er e h e was needed , Hall g u id e d h i s b a t t e r y t ow ar dMcPherson Ridge. W i t h i n a s h o r t d i s t a n c e he was s topped by aUnion or d e r l y who informed Hal l t h a t he was h e a d i n g s t r a i g h tf o r t h e C o nf e de r at e l i n e s . A q u i c k r e c o n n a i s s a n c e p ro ve d t h eo r d e r l y was c o r r e c t . Hall t u r n e d a r o u n d an d moved h i s b a t t e r yback toward Semina ry R idge . 23

A t Seminary Ridge he met Colonel Wainwright whom en ti on ed t h a t t h e g u n w h i c h H a l l was f a r c e d t o l e a v e b eh in de a r l i e r i n t h e d ay was s t i l l abandoned on t h e f i e l d . Hallq u i c k l y t o o k a l imber and one se r gean t back t o McPhersonR id ge a nd r e c o v e r e d t h e weapon. O ut o f h i s o r i g i n a l s i x g u n s ,o n l y t h r e e were n o t d i s a b l e d . By now t h e s e n i o r o f f i c e r ont h e f i e l d was t h e X I Co rp s commander, G en er al Howard. OnHoward s o rde r s H a l l s t h r e e f u n c t i o n i n g gu ns were p l a c e d i np o s i t i o n on t h e l e f t o f t h e c em e ta r y, s o u t h o f G e tt y s b u rg . 2 4

Dur ing t h e day Co lon e l Wainwrigh t had ove rh ea r di n s t r u c t i o n s t o G e n e r a l Dou ble da y s t a t i n g t h e n e c e s s i t y ofh o l d i n g Cemetary H i l l a t a l l c o s t s Wainwright d i d n o t knowo f t h e e x i s t e n c e o f Cemeta ry H i l l , a nd as su me d t h a t t h ec o n v e r s a t i o n was r e f e r r i n g t o S e mi na ry R id ge .2 5 W ith t h es i t u a t i o n d e t e r i o r a t i n g r a p i d ly , and a s s u m i n g t h a t i t was t h e

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S e min a ry R idg e wh ic h h ad t o b e h e ld a t a l l c o s t s , W a i n w r i g h tp o s i t i o n e d C o op e r s and S t e v e n s b a t t e r i e s on S e mi na ry R i dg e .R e y n o ld s b a t t e r y , now commanded b y L ie u t e n a n t Ge o rge B re c k ,was p o s i t i o n e d s o u t h o f M cP he rs on Woods, w i t h o n e s e c t i o nd e t ac h e d t o s u p p o r t t h e l e f t f l a n k o f W adsw ort hs l i n e .S t ew a r t s b a t t e r y was s e n t t o s u p p o r t R ob in so n s d i v i s i o n b yd e n y i n g C o n f e d e r a t e access t o t h e C as ht ow n r o a d a nd t h er a i l r o a d c u t .

Soon a f t e r t h e new p o s i t i o n s were o c c u p i e d ,C o n f e d e r a t e i n f a n t r y moved o u t o f t h e woods a p p r o x i m a t e l y 500y a r d s t o t h e f r o n t of t h e Union f o r c e s . T h e y moved t o t h el e f t o f t h e Un io n l i n e i n a d o u bl e co lu mn , f i n a l l y f o rm i ng ad o u b l e l i n e of b a t t l e a nd mo vi ng to wa rd t h e c r e s t . G u r i n gt h i s move me nt o f t h e r e b e l c ol um ns t h e f i r i n g o f L i e u t e n a n tB re ck e s e c t i o n s was b lo c k e d b y t h e movement of Unioni n f a n t r y i m me di at e l y t o t h e i r f r o n t . z e When t h e r e b e l l i n e sr e a c h e d t o w i t h i n 200 y a r d s o f Br eck s guns , Wainwr igh t hadt o w i th dr aw t h e b a t t e r y t o a p o s i t i o n b eh in d a s t o n e w a l l ont h e c r e s t o f S e min a ry R id g e . A l th o u g h t h e f i r s t l i n e o fC o nf e de r at e i n f a n t r y was h a l t e d m o m e n t ar i l y b y t h e c o mb in edf i r e o f t h e Union i n f a n t r y an d a r t i l l e r y , t h e s e c o n d l i n e d i dn o t f a l t e r . A d di t io n al r e b e l s o l d i e r s were d e p l o y i n g o f f t h eCaahtown road . Wainwr igh t was unaware t h a t b y t h i s t imeW ad swor th had a l r e a d y o rd e re d C a p t a i n S t e v e n s and h i sb a t t e r y t o wi thdraw.Z7 S t i l l b e l i e v i n g i t was SeminaryR i d g e t h a t was t o b e he l d , W ain wr ight i n s t r u c t e d h i s

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b a t t e r i e s t o remain i n p o s i t i o n . * eN o t u n t i l W a i n w r i g h t n o t i c e d t h e U n i o n i n f a n t r y

w i t h d r a w i n g d i d h e o r d e r h i s b a t t e r i e s l im be re d t o t h e r e a rf o r movement t o w a r d G e t t y s b u r g on t h e C as ht ow n r o a d . I n f a n t r yt r a f f i c on t h e r oa d f o r ce d t h e a r t i l l e r y t o move a t a w a l k .When t h e ro ad was f i n a l l y c l e a r o f o b s t r u c t i o n s t h a t woulda l l o w movement a t a t r o t , C o nf ed e ra te s o l d i e r s were c l o s eenough t o i n f l i c t s u b s t a n t i a l damage t o t h e b a t t e r i e s , b o t hi n e q u i p m en t a n d p e r s o n n e l . O nce t h r o u g h G e t t y s b u r g ,W ai nw ri gh t p l a c e d h i s b a t t e r i e s on C emet a r y H i l l a l o n g w i t hone b a t t e r y f ro m t h e X I C o r p s . z e

I t h a s b e e n p r o p o s e d t h a t t h e U ni on w i t h d r a w a l f ro mSeminary R idge was c a us e d by t h e c o l l a p s e o f t h e U n i o np o s i t i o n t o t h e n o r t h of G e t t y s bu r g . P r i o r t o t h e a r r i v a l o fHowards X I Co rp s , now und er t h e command of General S c h u r zwho as su me d t h a t p o s i t i o n w h e n Howard re p l a ce d Reynolds a st h e commander of t h e f i e l d , I C o rp s f o r c e s w er e s p r e a d t h i ni n a n a t t e m p t t o n o t o n l y s t o p t h e C o n fe d e ra t e t h r e a t f ro mt h e w e s t , b u t a l s o t h e t h r e a t po se d by Genera l E w e l l s f o r c e st o t h e no r t h . 30 By t h e t ime X I C or ps f o r c e s had a r r i v e d t oa s s i s t I C o r p s , E w e l l s t r o o p s h ad a l r e a d y o c c u pi e d Oak H i l l ,a p i e c e o f k ey t e r r a i n w hi ch do m in a te d t h e l e s s f a v o r a b l et e r r a i n h e l d b y U n i o n f o r c e s . 3 1 When E w e 1 1 i n i t i a t e d h i sa t t a c k t o t h e s o u t h a t a r o u n d 2:30 p . m . , t h e two X I C o rp sd i v i s i o n s o f G e n e r a l s S ch i m m e lf e n ni g a nd Ba rl ow had j u s td e pl o ye d i n t h e a r e a between t h e Mummasburg and Ha r r i s bu rgr o a d s n o r t h o f t o wn . 32 Ac co mpa ny ing e a c h o f t h e s e d i v i s i o n s

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was o ne b a t t e r y , w i t h t h e t h r e e r em ai ni ng b a t t e r i e s of t h ec o r p s a r t i l l e r y b r i g a d e he l d i n r e s e r v e . 3 3

The f i r s t X I C o rp s b a t t e r y w hi ch saw a c t i o n w a sB a t t e r y I , F i r s t Ohio L i g h t A r t i l l e r y , commanded by C a p t a i nHu b e r t D i l g e r . D i l g e r , s u p p o r t i n g t h e T h i r d D i v i s i o n , wasd i r e c t e d b y G e ne r al S ch ur z t o p o s i t i o n h i s b a t t e r y as he sawf i t b e twe e n t h e Tan ey to wn a nd Ba l t i mo r e Ro a d s .3 4 I n i t i a l l yD i l g e r p o s i t i o n e d o n l y on e o f h i s s e c t i o n s , w hi ch i mm e di a te l ybecame engaged w i t h a four-gun C o n f ed e r a t e b a t t e r y a b ou t 1400y a r ds t o i t s f r o n t . T h i s c au se d Dilger t o b r i n g up h i sr e m a i n i n g f o u r N a p o l e o n s , a l l g u n s now f i r i n g a t c l o s e t ot h e i r maximum range o f 1600 y a r d s . With t h e C o n f e de r a t eb a t t e r y r e i n f o r c e d by a n o t h e r f ou r- gu n b a t t e r y , and soont h e r e a f t e r a t h i r d , D i l g e r r e q u e s te d a s s i s t a n c e from M ajorThomas W O s b o r n , t h e X I C or ps a r t i l l e r y b r i g a d e commander.M aj or O sb or n o r d e r e d L i e u t e n a n t W h e e l e r ' s 1 3 t h N e w YorkB a t t e r y f or wa rd t o a s s i s t D i l g e r , u nd er t h e c o n t r o l o f t h el a t t e r . 3 5 Wheeler 's f o u r 3- Inch g u n s q u i c k l y ze r o ed i n ont h e C o nf e de r at e b a t t e r i e s , r e l i e v i n g t h e p r e s s u r e on Di lgera n d a l l o w i n g h i m t o a d v an ce h i s N a po le on s f or w ar d s e v e r a lh u n d r e d y a c d s .3 6 Once i n t h e i r new p o s i t i o n , Dilge r ' s g u n sp ro vi de d c o v e r i n g f i r e for Wheeler as h e moved h i s gunsf o rw a rd t o a p o s i t i o n o n D i l g e r ' s r i g h t . I n t h i s p o s i t i o n t h etwo U nion b a t t e r i e s c o n t i n u e d t h e i r e ng ag em en t w i t h b o t henemy a r t i l l e r y and i n f a n t r y , r e c e i v i n g m ou nt in g p r e s s u r efrom a C o nf e de r at e i n f a n t r y t h r e a t on t h e i r r i g h t f l a n k . Both

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b a t t e r i e s r e ma in ed on t h e f i e l d , moving p e r i o d i c a l l y t o makei t more d i f f i c u l t f o r t h e C on f ed e ra t e g un s t o p u t a c c u r a t ef i r e on t h e i r p o s i t i o n . 3 7 When t h e o r d e r was g i ve n f o r t h ei n f a n t r y t o w i th dr aw , Dilger and Wheeler used t h e samete ch ni qu e th ey had used when t h e y a d v an c e d, w i t h e a c h o n ep r o v id i n g co ve r f o r t h e o t h e r a s t he y moved ba ck .3 9

A s Dilger a nd W he el er s u p p o r t e d t h e T h i r d D i v i s i o n ont h e X I Corps l e f t , B a t t e r y G , 4 t h U.S. A r t i l l e r y , commanded byLieu tenan t Baya rd Wi lkeson , was p r o v i d i n g s u p p o r t t o G e n er a lB a rl ow s F i r s t D i v i s i o n on t h e c o r p s r i g h t . General Barlows e l e c t e d W il ke so n s p o s i t i o n , p l a c i n g two s e c t i o n s u n u su a l l yc l o s e t o t h e C o n fe d er a te i n f a n t r y l i n e s n o r t h o f t h e Yorkr o a d . W it hi n m i n u t es of moving i n t o t h i s p o s i t i o n L i e u t e n a n tWilkeson was mo r t a l ly wounded, p l ac in g th e command of Ba t t e r yG i n t o t h e l a p o f L i e u t e n a n t B a n c r o f t . As was t h e case w i t hDilger a nd W h ee l er , B a n c r o f t f o un d h i s b a t t e r y i n a d u e l w i t ha n u m e r i c a l l y s u p e r i o r enemy a r t i l l e r y f o r c e and s t e a d i l ya d va n c in g i n f a n tr y m e n . P r e d i c t a b l y , t h e r e s u l t s w e r e t h esame. B a n c r o f t was f o r c ed t o w ithd raw h i s b a t t e r y a s t h eF i r s t D i v i s io n Pel1 b ack i n d i s a r r a y . 3 c

The wi thd rawa l of X I C o r ps u n i t s t h r o u g h t h e town o fG e t t y s b u r g c r e a t e d pr o bl em s f o r t h e a r t i l l e r y b a t t e r i e s w i t ht h e i r ca nn on , c a i s s o n s an d h o r s e s . The l i m i t e d access i n t oa nd t h r o u g h t h e t ow n, c om bi ne d w i t h t h e a p p a r e n t l a c k ofc o n t r o l , r e s u l t e d i n mass c o n f u si o n , f o r c i n g p a r t o f b o t hD i l g e r s and W he el er s b a t t e r i e s t o p ro v id e c o v er i ng f i r e fort h e d i v i s i o n s a s t h e y s cr a mb l e d t o s t a y a h e ad o f t h e

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p u r s u i n g C o n f e d e r a t e s . 4 0 M aj or Os bo rn d i r e c t e d C a p t a i nL e w i s H e c k m a n , commander of B a t t e r y K , F i r s t Oh io Li g h tA r t i l l e r y , t o p o s i t i o n h i s b a t t e r y i n s u pp or t o f t h ew i t h d r aw i n g U nio n f o r c e s . I n ex ecu t i n g t h i s m i s s i o n Heckmanl o s t two of h i s N ap ol eo ns t o C o nf e d e ra t e i n f a n t r y t h a tswarmed o v e r h i s p o s i t i o n b e f o r e h e had time t o f a l l backh i m s e l f . 4 1

By l a t e a f t e r n o o n o n 1 J u l y a l l of t h e I and X I Corpsa r t i l l e r y b a t t e r i e s had t ak en up p o s i t i o n s on Cemetarv H i l l .Dur ing t h e r e m a i nd e r o f t h e d a y o n l y a few s h o t s were f i r e d .G e n e r a l E w e 1 1 n e v e r a t t e m p t e d a s e r i o u s a s s a u l t on t h e Unionp o s i t i o n . M e an wh il e, t h e U ni on a r t i l l e r y t o o k s t o c k o f i t sl o s s e s i n men, equipment and ani ma ls . T h e I Corps a r t i lsrvb r i g ad e l o s t e i g h t y- t h r e e men e i t h e r k i l l e d o r wounded alongw i t h e i g h t y h o r s e s . T h r e e o f W a i nw r ig h t ' s g u n s be l o n g in g t oC a p t a i n H a l l s b a t t e r y h ad b e en d i sm o u nt e d a nd w er e n o l o n g e rs e r v i c e a b l e . The l o s s e s o f M aj or O sb o rn ' s X I Corp s a r t i l l e r yb r i g a d e were n o t a s w e l l documented , bu t were a p p a r e n t l y nota s s e v e r e a s W a i n w ri g h t 's . O ve r t h e t h r e e d a y b a t t l e O sbo rnl o s t n i n e t y - e i g h t h o r s e s c ompared t o t h e e i p h t y W ai nw ri gh tl o s t on t h e f i r s t day a l o n e . The same s i t u a t i o n h o ld s t r u ef o r p e r s o nn e l losses. W h e r e a s W a i n w r i g h t ' s b r i g a d ee x p e r i e n c e d a loss of e i g h t y - t h r e e men on 1 J u l y , Osborn l o s to n l y s i x t y - n i n e men d u r i n g t h e e n t i r e b a t t l e . O sb o rn 'sb r ig a de l o s t two guns d u r i ng t h e f i r s t d a y ' s a c t i o n . T h er e p l en i s h m en t o f a mm un it ion c h e s t s r e ce i v e d t o p p r i o r i t y i n

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Artillery Positions, 1 July p.m.

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bot h cor ps. Si nce t he I Cor ps t r ai n had not yet ar r i ved, bot ht he I and XI Cor ps ar t i l l er y br i gades f i l l ed t hei r ammuni t i onc hes t s f r om t he XI Cor ps t r ai n as t hey pr epar ed f or t hesecond day of bat t l e. *=

I n anal yzi ng t he per f or mance of t he Uni on ar t i l l er ydur i ng t he f i r s t day of t he bat t l e, and assess i ng t hes i gni f i c anc e of t hat per f or mance, sever al aspect s of t heday s f i ght must be exam ned. One i s t he manner i n whi ch t hear t i l l er y was empl oyed. Anot her i s i t s r e l at i onshi p wi t h t hef or ces i t s uppor t ed. Fi nal l y, t he s i gni f i c anc e of i t sper f or mance wi l l r equi r e t hat i t be measur ed agai nst t heout come desi r ed by t he over al l commander .

The ar t i l l er y empl oyed on 1 J ul y was par t of anor gani zat i on l e s s t han s i xt y days ol d. The new ar t i l l er ybr i gades s howed pr om se, but pr obl ems exper i enced on t hef i r st day demonst r at ed how ol d habi t s ar e har d t o br eak. Anexampl e i s t he met hod of ar t i l l er y empl oyment and posi t i ons el ect i on. As was pr evi ous l y di scussed, one of t he dr i v i ngf or ces behi nd t he or gani zat i onal changes was t he t endency f orar t i l l er y ass i gned to di v i s i ons t o be empl oyed i n a pi ecemealf ashi on by t he i nf ant r y commander s. These same of f i cer s hadpr oven r el uc t a nt i n t he pas t t o gi ve up t hei r ar t i l l er y i f i twas det er m ned t hat i t coul d be bet t er unt i l i zed somewher eel s e.

Maneuver commander s , bot h at di v i s i on and cor psl evel , gener al l y al l owed t hei r a r t i l l er y commander s to sel ec tpos i t i ons f or t hei r guns , pr obabl y because of t he r espect

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t hey had f or t he pr of ess i onal j udgement of t he ar t i l l er yof f i cer s i n mat t er s r el at i ng t o t hei r f i el d. I n s el ect i ngposi t i ons t he ar t i l l er y commander was obl i gat ed t o sel ect onet hat woul d s uppor t t he maneuver commander s scheme ofmaneuver . Ther ef or e, bat t er i es f r om t he cor ps ar t i l l er ybr i gade whi ch wer e suppor t i ng a di vi si on came under t hecont r ol of t he di vi si on commander . Whi l e bot h Wai nwr i ght andOsbor n wer e r esponsi bl e f or i mpl ement i ng t hei r cor pscommander s gui dance on f i r e suppor t , t hi s appar ent l y di d notmean t hat di vi si on commander s wi t hi n t he cor ps coul d di r ectt he ar t i l l er y br i gade s r emai ni ng bat t er i es i nt o ac t i onunl ess t he ar t i l l ery br i gade commander consent ed. Col onelWai nwr i ght s r ef usa l t o empl ace a bat t er y i n a posi t i on whendi r ect ed by t he act i ng I Cor ps commander , Gener al Doubl eday,woul d at f i r st gl ance appear t o be a case of di sobedi ance. I nac tual i t y th i s was a s i t uat i on of an ar t i l l er y commanderadvi s i ng a s t af f of f i c er , who had t r ansm t t ed t he di r ec t i ve,of t he unf easi bi l i t y of such an act i on, and t hat once t henecessary i nf ant r y suppor t was pr ovi ded t o t he ar t i l l er y , t hef i r e suppor t woul d be empl aced. Gener al Doubl eday di d notpur sue t he s i t uat i on, but pr ovi ded t he r equi r ed i nf ant r ysuppor t and Wai nwr i ght pr ovi ded t he ar t i l l er y . Thi s woul dappear t o be an exampl e of a maneuver commander r espect i ngt he recommendat i ons of hi s a r t i l l er y spec i al i s t whi l edemonst r at i ng concur r ent l y t he aut hor i t y whi ch Wai nwr i ghtexer ci sed as t he Cor ps Chi ef - of - Ar t i l l er y. Bot h Col onel

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W ai nw ri gh t an d M aj or Os bo rn e x e r c i s e d c o n s i d e r a b l e a u t h o r i t yo v er t h e i r two b r i g a d e s d u r i n g t h e f i r s t d ay o f t h e b a t t l e .S i n c e n e i t h e r r o de w i t h t h e i r c o r p s l e a d d i v i s i o n t ho ug h ,t h e s e n i o r a r t i l l e r y m e n t h e r e were t h e c omma nd er s o f t h eb a t t e r i e s a t t a c h ed t o t h e l e ad d i v i s i o n s .

I n i t i a l l y L i e u t e n an t Calef was g i v e n t h e o p p o r t u n i t yt o s e l e c t h i s own p o s i t i o n b y C o lo n el Gamble, t h e F i r s tB r i g a d e commander o f G e n e r a l B u f o r d s c a v a l r y d i v i s i o n .Once i n p o s i t i o n he was o r d e r e d t o move two of h i s s e c t i o n sby B u fo rd h i m s e l f . G e n e r a l Re y no l ds , a c t i n g as t h e commandero f t h e f i e l d pe nd in g t h e a r r i v a l o f G e n er a l Meade, d i r e c t e dC a p t a i n Hal l s b a t t e r y i n t o p o s i t i o n when i t was d e ci d ed t o

- r e l i e v e C a l e f s u n i t . Whether o r n o t t h e g e n e r a l s f e l t t h ea r t i l l e r y o f f i c e r s were i n e xp e r i e nc e d and n o t q u a l i f i e d t os e l e c t a p ro pe r p o s i t i o n f o r t h e i r gu ns i s i m po s s i b le t o s a y ,b u t some i n f a n t r y o f f i c e r s o b v i o u s l y had c o n f i d e n c e i n t h eb a t t e r y commanders s u p p o r t i n g t h e i r f o r c e s , f o r ex am pl eC o l o n e l Gamble o f B u f o r d - s d i v i s i o n . A n o th e r was G e n e r a lS c h u r z o f t h e X I C o r p s . S c h u r z a l l o w e d C a p t a i n Dilger t op o s i t i o n h i s b a t t e r y , e x h i b i t i n g t h e r eb y c o nf i de n ce i n h i sa r t i l l e r y s u b o r d i n a t e s a b i l i t y t o make a p ro p e r s e l e c t i o n .G e n e r al Ba rlo w on t h e o t h e r h a nd , S c h u r z s F i r s t D i v i s i o ncommander, s e l e c t e d t h e i n i t i a l p o s i t i o n o f B a t t e r y G , 4 t hU.S. A r t i l l e r y . W he th er b y m i s t a k e , o r t h r o u g h a l a c k o fu n d e r s t a n d i n g o f p r o p e r a r t i l l e r y e mpl o yme nt , t wo s e c t i o n s o fB a t t e r y G were p o s i t i o n e d t o o c l o s e t o t h e C on f ed e ra t e l i n e s .T h i s r e s u l t e d i n t h e loss of t h e b a t t e r y commander a nd f o r c e d

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t h e wi t hd r aw a l of t h e b a t t e r y . I t i s p o s s i b l e t h e d e t a i l e dp o s i t i o n i n g i n s t r u c t i o n s g i ve n by s e v e r a l of the maneuvercommanders i s a r e s u l t of t h e d i r e c t - f i r e n a t u r e o f t h ea r t i l l e r y t h a t was i n u s e . T h e r e q ui r e me n t t o s ee t h e t a r g e tt h a t t h e b a t t e r y was t o e ng ag e may h a ve f o r c e d s ome o f t h ed i v i s i o n a n d co r ps Commanders t o i s s u e p rec i s e i n s t r u c t i o n st o t h e a r t i l l e r y t o ensure t h e b a t t e r i e s were emplaced i np o s i t i o n s w he re t h e y c o u l d e n ga ge t h e t a r g e t s t h e maneuvercommanders wanted.

Once t h e a r t i l l e r y b r i g a d e commanders a r r i v e d on t h eb a t t l e f i e l d , b o th to o k a n a c t i v e r o l e i n t h e p o s i t i o n i n g oft h e i r b a t t e r i e s . C o l on e l W ai nw ri gh t w a s e s p e c i a l l y i n v o lv e d .On two o c c a s i o n s he e i t h e r d e f e r r e d o r r e f u s e d t o em pl ac ea r t i l l e r y on a s i t e s e l e c t e d by a maneuver commander. H i sd e c i s i o n s were b as ed e i t h e r on a l a c k of i n f a n t r y s up p or t f o rt h e b a t t e r y , o r t h e i r n e e d l e s s e x po s ur e t o enemy f i r e .

T h e re a p p e a r ed t o b e a l a c k o f c o o r d i n a t i o n b et we ent h e i n f a n t r y and a r t i l l e r y . Even th ou gh t h e y were g e n e r a l l ym u tu a ll y su p p o r t i ng , t h e a v a i l a b l e r e p o r t s g i v e t h ei m p r e s s i o n t h a t t h e communica t ion be tween the two arms wasm i n i m a l a t b e s t . I n s e v e r a l i n s t a n c es o n t h e f i r s t d a y t h ei n f a n t r y would s t a r t f a l l i n g bac k wi th o ut n o t i f y i n g t h ea r t i l l e r y . T h i s was m os t l i k e l y c a u se d by h a v i n g two s e p a r a t ec h a i n s o f command on t h e l i n e o f b a t t l e . S i n c e w i t h d r a w i n g ab a t t e r y was more time c on su min g th a n p u l l i n g b a ck i n f a n t r y ,b e i ng t h e l a s t t o know me an t b e i n g t h e l a s t t o w i th d ra w . T h i s

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r e s u l t e d i n l o s t h o r s e s and ca nn on as a r t i l l e r y m e n s cr am bl edt o r emove t h e i r g u n s o u t o f t h e p a t h of r a p i d l y a d va n ci n gC o nf e de r at e i n f a n t r y .

The l a c k of c o o r d i n a t i o n b e tw ee n t h e i n f a n t r y a nda r t i l l e r y was j u s t a s e v i d e n t a t t h e h i g h e r e c h e l o n s o fa u t h o r i t y . T he f a i l u r e f o r C o lo n e l Wainwright t o be i n f o r m e do f t h e f i e l d c om manders i n t e n t i o n s t o h o ld Cemetary H i l l a ta l l c o s t s , o r t o have i t e x p l a i n e d t o him e x p l i c i t l y howD ou bl ed ay w a nt e d t h a t a c c o m p l i s h e d , n e a r l y c a u s e d t h e loss ofs e v e r a l b a t t e r i e s p o s i t i o n e d on S em in ar y R id ge .

T h r o u g h o u t t h e f i r s t d a y a t G et ty sb ur g t h e a r t i l l e r yd i s p l a y e d t e c h n i q u e s o f t a c t i c a l employment t h a t a r e a sa p p r o p r i a t e t o d a y a s t h e y w er e t h e n . W it h t o d a y ss o p h i s t i c a t e d means of l o c a t i n g op po si ng a r t i l l e r y , f r e q u e n tmoves w i l l b e t h e n or m. A l t h o u g h t h e means o f l o c a t i n g enemya r t i l l e r y was s t r i c t l y v i s u a l a t G e tt y sb u rg , i n t h e i n t e r e s to f s e l f - p r e s e r v a t i o n i t became necessa ry t o move f r e q u e n t l yt o s u r v i v e . C a p ta in D i lge r a nd L i e u t e n a n t W he el er c o n s t a n t l ymoved t h e i r b a t t e r i e s a bo ut i n a f i e l d n o r t h of t h e t own.T h i s movement c o m p l i c a t e d t h e R e b e l s e f f o r t s t o p l a c ee f f e c t i v e c o u n t e r - b a t t e r y f i r e on t h e Union b a t t e r i e s byr e q u i r i n g them t o c o n s t a n t l y reaim t h e i r g un s . T h i s no d o u btr e du c ed t h e U nion g u n s e f f e c t i v e n e s s a s well s i n c e t hey hadt o p h y s i c a l l y p i c k u p a nd move t o new l o c a t i o n s t h r o u g h o u t t h ef i g h t .

To d e t e r m i ne t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e a r t i l l e r y sc o n t r i b u t io n t o t h e f i r s t d a y s a c t i o n i t must b e gauged

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a g a i n s t w h a t t h e f i e l d commander w an te d t o a c h i e v e . T h e r e i ss o m e c o n f l i c t i n t h e O f f i c i a l R e co rd s o v er w ha t t h e o r i g i n a li n t e n t i o n s w er e . The d e a t h o f G e ne r a l R ey no ld s ad de d t o t h i sc o n f u s i o n s i n c e it i s d i f f i c u l t t o de t e r mi n e e x a c t l y where h ei n te n d ed t o d e f e n d , a l t h o u g h i t i s b e l i e v e d t h a t h i si n t e n t i o n s were t o d ef e nd i n t h e woods a lo ng McPhersonR i d g e . 4 3 Yet t h e s e n i o r o f f i c e r on t h e f i e l d p r i o r t oGenera l H ow ard s a r r i v a l , G e n e r a l D o ub l ed a y, i n whosec o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h a n u n i d e n t i f i e d p e r so n W a in wr ig hta p p a r e n t l y ov e rh e ar d t h e r e f e r e n c e t o h o l d i ng Cemetary H i l l ,s t a t e s i n h i s o f f i c i a l r e p o r t t h a t h e had r e c e i v e d o r d e r sf r om G e n e r a l Howard t h a t i t was i ndeed Semina ry R idge whichwas t o b e h e l d . 4 4 B u t t h e i n c r e a s i n g p r e s s u r e f r o m t h en o r t h , and t h e gap o f s e v e r a l h u n d re d y a r d s b et w ee n t h e i andX I Corp s made ho ld in g Seminary Ridge and th e town o fG e t t y s b ur g i m p o s s i b le . T h i s f o r c e d a w i t hd r a wa l t o CemetaryH i l l , a p o s i t i o n w hic h b o t h Genera l Howard and t h e commandero f t h e I 1 C o r p s , G e n e r a l H a nc o ck , r e c o g n i z e d as a s t r o n g o n e. 45

Assum ing t h a t t h e w i t hd r a wa l t o Cemetary H i l l w a s ana c c e p t a b l e on e i n terms o f a l l o w i n g t h e Union f o r c e s t oe s t a b l i s h a v i a b l e d e fe n se i n which t o c on du ct o p e r a t i o n s f o rt h e r e m a i n de r o f t h e b a t t l e , t h a n t h e a r t i l l e r y s c o n t r i b u t i o nwas a p o s i t i v e o n e . I t was s u c c e s s f u l i n o p e r a t i n g f i r s t w i t ht h e c a v a l r y , and t h e n w i t h t h e i n f a n t r y i n d e l a y i n g a nds t o p p i n g t h e C o n f e d e r a t e a d v an c e fr om t h e w e s t . A l th o ug h t h eX I C o r p s was u n a bl e t o s t o p G e n er a l E w e l l s s o l d i e r s a dv an ci ng

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f rom t h e n o r t h , t h e a r t i l l e r y as si gn ed t o t h e X I C o r p s p r o v i d e dv a l u ab l e c ov e r in g f i r e f o r t h e i n f a n t r y a s i t w i t h d r e w s o u t ht h r o u g h t h e town.

P o st e d on C em et ar y H i l l , t h e e l e v e n Union b a t t e r i e swere s t i l l a c o n s i d e r a b l e f o r c e t o be r ec ko ne d w i t h d e s p i t et h e d a y s l o s s e s . T hey , a l o n g w i t h t h e Union ca va l r y andi n f a n t r y , had s u c c e s s f u l l y d e l a ye d t h e C o n f ed e r a te s , s e c u r i n gs t r o n g d e f e n s i v e p o s i t i o n s w h ic h t h e Army of t h e Po tom acwould e x p l o i t d u r i n g t h e r e m a i nd e r o f t h e b a t t l e . TheUnion a r t i l l e r y , combined wi th the oncoming da r knes s ands u p p o r t i n g i n f a n t r y , n o d o u b t c on v in c ed E w e 1 1 t h a t t h ed i s c r e t i o n a r y o r d e r s d i r e c t i n g him t o a s s a u l t t h e Unionp o s i t i o n had b e s t n o t b e f o l l o w ed . 4 e T h i s was f o r t u n a t e a si t a l l o w e d f o r t h e a r r i v a l of t h e r e s t of t h e Army o f t h ePotomac wi th i t s r e m a i n i n g c o r p s a r t i l l e r y b r i g a d e s , a n d i t sf o r m i d a b l e a r t i l l e r y r e s e r v e

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CHAPTER 2

ENDNOTES

I L . Van Loan Naisawald, ( N e w York:O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y Press , 1 9 6 0 ) , 3 3 4 .zEdwin B . C o d d i n g t o n , T h e Gettv- ' ( N e wY ork: C h a r l e s S c r i b n e r ' s S o n s. 1 9 68 ) . 30-31. Edward G .L o n g a c r e , ( N e w York: A.S. Barnes andCompany, 1977), 1 5 0 .a N a i s a w a l d , 3 2 9 .4 I b i d . , 3 30 .S I b i d . , 33 4.W o d d i n g t o n , 13, and C l i f f o r d Dowdey, o f ab L h n ( N e w Y o r k : A l f r e d A . K no pf , I n c . , 1 9 6 3 ) : 8 2 -8 3 .7U.S. Depar tment of War, o f t h eo f t h e of t h e.a t e Armies (Wash ing ton , D . C . : G o v e r n m e n t P r i n t i n gO f f i c e , 1880-1901 . S e r i e s I , Volume XXVII, P a r t 1, 1031( h e r e a f t e r c i t e d as O R and u n l e s s o t he r wi s e n o t ed r e f e r s t o

S e r i e s I ) .e I b i d . , 1031.9F a i r f ax Downey, T h a l h ~ ~t G e t t v w N e w York:David HcKay Company, In c . , 19 58 ) , 20 .I O O R , X X V I I , 1 , 9 2 7 .1 1 I b i d . , 359 .1 z I b i d . . 2 4 5X a I b i d . , 3 5 9 .I ' I b i d . , 10311 J I b i d . , 355 .l e I b i d

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